Financial News and Portfolio Management Discussion through January 24th

All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.

Global stock markets rose over the week on a positive reception of the ECB’s new stimulus measures. The S&P 500 rose 1.6% and the Dow gained 0.9% over the week.  Internationally, the Stoxx Europe 600 index hit a 7 year high and was up 5.1% for the week, while Japan gained 3.8%.  The Euro has fallen 7.4% against the dollar since the beginning of the year to reach its lowest point in 11 years.   The yield on the 10 year Treasury was flat over the week ending at 1.81%.  Oil sank still further finishing the week at $45.59 a barrel.  Article

China’s growth slowed to 7.4% for 2014, its weakest pace in over 25 years. Article

Canada’s central bank surprised markets by cutting its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 0.75% in response to the oil price drop and its potential effect on the country’s economy.  It’s the first rate cut since the recession for the country.

The ECB elected to launch a $1.16 trillion bond buying plan to help stimulate growth in the euro zone.  The bank will purchase $60 billion euro in assets a month starting in March and they will last through September 2016.  They signaled they could go longer if they are not near their inflation target of 2%.  Article

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley posted results that disappointed resulting in the 6 largest US banks issuing disappointing earnings reports.  More regional lenders SunTrust and PNC, however both posted results that beat analysts’ estimates.

IBM, Amex, UPS, State Street and Bank of NY Mellon missed estimated, while Netflix, Starbucks and GE posted positive earnings reports.

 

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Raffa Wealth Management is an independent investment advisor providing nonprofit organizations, high net-worth investors, and qualified retirement plans with a full range of investment consulting services.  We were established to fill the need for transparency, clarity, and vision in the professional management of investment assets.   Visit us at www.raffawealth.com

IBM, Amex, UPS, State Street and Bank of NY Mellon missed estimated, while Netflix, Starbucks and GE posted positive earnings reports.

There is no guarantee that any investment strategy, including those described here, will be successful. Any investment or investment strategy can lose money. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future results. You should not assume that any discussion or information contained herein serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Raffa Wealth Management, LLC. This information was gathered from reliable sources, but we cannot guarantee accuracy. Indexes do not reflect the fees associated with actual investments and such fees would reduce the performance illustrated. Source: FMG Suite, LLC.
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